Oedipus Essay, Research Paper

In the limited experience of my young life I have not come across too many circumstances where I have been under what I would call a true leader. In order to be able to state what I think a true leader to be, the first problem for me is what truly constitutes a leader. A leader can be classified as anyone who people follow in order to reach a common goal. This is a very broad definition that could include people such as a teacher, a coach, or a politician. Not everyone who serves in the above mentioned capacities would I consider a leader of people in the sense that the Odyssey and Antigone character s Odysseus and Creon are leaders. People follow these two men out of a certain amount of respect that their character demands. While their positions of being Kings is due to birth or marriage, they possess qualities that make them worthy of the positions that they occupy. Both Creon and Odysseus show great competence as rulers truly deserve the title of Kings; and even though both their prides are the cause of great hardships for themselves. By the end of each of their respective tales they have learned the wisdom of a true ruler.

One of Odysseus most worthy qualities is that of quick thinking. No matter what situation he finds himself in, he is usually able to manage his way out of it. For instance when he is intoxicating the Cyclops, Odysseus cleverly tells the Polyphemos that, My name is Nohbdy: mother, father, and friends, / everyone calls me Nohbdy (p.156, line 366-7). Thinking ahead Odysseus knew that when the other Cyclops asked who had blinded Polyphemos, he would have nothing to answer but nobody. This is such clever thinking on his part that he manages to save his crew and himself from certain disaster. Another aspect of Odysseus character that can be considered a worthy trait in a leader is that of his caution in unfamiliar circumstances. When telling his story to the Phaiacians he does not at first reveal his identity, which may seem rather strange at first. In reality Odysseus is being very cautious, for on first landing on the isle he has no idea where the lands loyalties lie. For all he knows they could be sympathetic to Troy s loss of the war and kill someone from the force that defeated her on sight. Only when he is absolutely sure where their true loyalties lie does he reveal himself. A true leader is one who always has their wits about them and can readily adapt to an unknown situation. Homer is always praising Odysseus on this fact throughout the epic, Noble Odysseus, expert in adversity is one of the many epitaphs that Homer attaches to Odysseus name (p. 138, line 448). Even Athena compliments Odysseus at one point saying, Whoever gets around you must be sharp / and guileful as a snake; even a god / might bow to you in ways of dissimulation (p.239, lines 285-7). This ability to deceive others, far from being a bad thing, is in my mind one of Odysseus best qualities. He knows how to best guard his own interests in order to achieve the goal which is on hand. While it may not be the most honest approach in the world it certainly gets the job done. Despite all these good aspects to his character there is one major flaw that causes his downfall.

This flaw that Odysseus possess is that of having too much pride. One instance where his pride causes him great strife with the gods is his encounter with the Polyphemos. After blinding him and escaping the cave he and his men are sailing away, free of all danger. All the Cyclops have lined up on the coast and are throwing boulders at the fleeing ship. The crew is about to escape but Odysseus pride will not let him leave without letting Polyphemos know who blinded him. Homer has Odysseus tell the story to the Phaiacians in this manner, I would not heed them [the crew] in my glorifying spirit, / but let my anger flare and yelled: / Kyklops, / if ever mortal men inquire / how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him / Odysseus, raider of cities took your eye (p.160, lines 502-7). This is the direct cause of Odysseus 10 year journey, since Polyphemos father is Poseidon. Angering the God of the sea is not a good idea when you are sailing home. In my opinion pride is not always a bad quality to have in a leader. Any leader would have to be confident in himself and believe in his actions. Pride though must be checked by a certain amount of wisdom in my opinion. Luckily though, by the end of Homer s epic poem Odysseus has learned a certain amount of wisdom. When the townspeople come to fight him at Laerte s house, Athena warns him against fighting the mob. In the poem it says that, He yielded to her, and his heart was glad (p.462, line 548). The important part is that through all his journeys he has learned that pride can get you in trouble. Due to this newfound wisdom he is actually glad that he does not have to fight these men. This shows great growth in the character of Odysseus because midway through the epic he probably would have eagerly fought the townspeople due to his pride. I think that with Odysseus newly acquired wisdom and his quick thinking and ability to adapt makes him an excellent ruler. Creon in Antigone is another King that shows qualities of being a worthy leader.

The fact that Creon has a strong sense of moral value is what makes him a good leader in my eyes. The big conflict in the play Antigone is that Creon believes that Polynices should not be buried because he is a traitor. Antigone on the other hand believes that it is her brother and that she has every right by the laws of the gods to bury Polynices. Creon states that, Never at my hands / will the traitor be honored above the patriot (p.68, lines 233-4). In reality it would be absurd to give the man who led the invasion into the city the same burial as one who defended it. Antigone is ignoring the fact that Polynices violated a most profound law, he betrayed his home to another city. Polynices forfeited his right to a burial when he decided to betray his homeland. If someone committed treason against the United States today he would not be given more than a common burial ceremony, no matter what his standing was in society. Even in the face of the adversity Creon faces due to his decree he remains firm in his resolve. If he were to go back on his law, regardless of the gender of the one protesting the law, he would be undermining his authority. Without authority over the land a King is nothing, as Creon puts it, But that man / the city places in authority, his orders / must be obeyed, large and small, / right and wrong (p.94, lines 748-51). If a ruler were to change his policy each time one person protested over it, than ruling would be impossible. Antigone has put Creon in a very tough situation, but he decides to stick to his law, right or wrong. While this may be the cause of his downfall, I respect his decision to not back down in the face of opposition.

Unfortunately for Creon though, whether he backed down from policy or not, he had already angered the gods. I think it is a mistake to believe that sentencing Antigone to death is what angered the gods and caused his downfall. Rather, as Tiressias states, You, you have no business with the dead, / nor do the gods above-this is violence / you have forced upon the heavens (p.115, lines 1191-93). By not burying Polynices he had already committed himself to ruination. Whether or not he enforced this policy by sentencing Antigone to death is immaterial to the gods. Instead the gods decided to punish Creon by forcing him to kill his son, Haemon, which resulted in the suicide of his wife. However, after all this tragedy, Creon lives to learn from the events of the play. Sophocles says in his Ode to Man that, When he weaves in / the laws of the land, and the justice of the gods / that binds his oaths together / he and his city rise high- / but the city casts out / that man who weds himself to inhumanity / thanks to reckless daring (p.77, lines 409-414). To me, this means that man must not only follow laws that men make but also always keep in mind those that the gods have set forth. This is where Creon lets his own pride convince himself into thinking he can make laws that contradict the gods. Creon should have not made the law in the first place, but as a ruler his fault does not lie in enforcing a law he has made. By the end of the play Creon is painfully aware of the mistakes he has made and through them he has gained wisdom. This wisdom will make him a wise ruler in the future. As the chorus puts it at the end of the play, The mighty words of the proud are paid in full / with mighty blows of fate, and at long last / these blows will teach us wisdom (p.128, lines 168-70).

In order to lead a country, as our President does, I think that a leader must be at the same time cunning, firm, and wise. While I do not like to admit that I want a dishonest President, what I really want is one that gets the job done. If perhaps in some cases this man would have to be cautious with the truth and cunning with what he tells opponents, than so be it. Bill Clinton may not have told the truth at times and may have had a sordid personal life, but it was just that, his personal life. The way in which he conducted the policy of our country was not affected by these acts. In truth Bill Clinton has done many good things for this country and in that respect he was a good president. This however does not mean that I condone his having an affair, it just means that I do not really believe it is much of my business. Also, a leader must have the conviction in his policy to stand by it. I do not want a leader to be mercurial in his policy. Instead he should believe wholly in it and defend to his upmost ability. This is not the same today as it was for Creon because a President would have to have his laws approved by congress, but the goverment in general should not go back on policy unless a majority of the country is against it. All this should be tempered by wisdom and knowledge in order to make sound judgements. A ruler today should be the best qualities of Odysseus and Creon along with wisdom.